DEF JAM: ICON ARTICLES

August 21, 2009 - If there's one thing we all know, it's that fighting solves everything. It could be a fight over who called shotgun, who gets the bed on a road trip, or for oil, but putting up your dukes will figure out a winner. Still, if you don't want to come to blows with a buddy, taking your brawl onto your PS3 is a pretty good idea. Today, we're showcasing five fighting games that rock and three (Hey, there aren't that many bad fighting games on Sony's console) that suck.

November 12, 2008 - When Vincent Kennedy McMahon bought the Capitol Wrestling Corporation from his father, Vincent J. McMahon, in 1982, he effectively carved the ancient sport of wrestling into two distinct categories: the real thing, and the really fun thing. Greco-Roman combat became a never-ending struggle between larger-than-life Faces and Heels, battling in a rigorously maintained kayfabe continuity of feuds and fragile alliances. Pro wrestling cut a fine distinction between sports and entertainment, athletes and superheroes. As concepts go, McMahon's World Wrestling Federation arrived on the scene ready-made for video game adaptation.
It didn't take long for gaming to jump into the squared circle with both feet... and a steel chair.

April 20, 2007 - March NPD numbers were released yesterday, and each of the big 3 console manufacturers has spent all morning scrambling to spin the results in its own favor. Microsoft happily announced this morning that it has continued to lead Sony's next-gen offering in sales with a total of 199K units sold in March. Not surprisingly, Microsoft made no mention of the Wii's March sales figures.

April 4, 2007 - This week on IGN is AFK, we gather just about every IGN editor to talk about the biggest games of March. Not only do the original reviewers discuss why they loved or hated a game, but others who played the title weigh in with their own opinion. We even found someone at IGN who didn't care for God of War II! Among the games discussed: Command & Conquer 3, Godfather: Blackhand Edition, Guitar Hero II, MotorStorm and many, many more.

March 6, 2007 - The Def Jam franchise has always been rooted in surreal situations: brawlers in underground arenas, rappers assuming bruising alter egos and physics defying "blazing" moves that incapacitated their opponents. Supporting these battles on the streets of New York was a deep fighting and weapon system thanks to the wrestling masterminds at Aki. While it was unbelievable, the over the top nature of the game worked well. The latest installment in the series, Def Jam: Icon, takes a departure from this formula, so instead of taking over New York with your fists, you're capturing the airwaves with your personal record label. Unfortunately, this introduction of real world elements breaks down aspects of the gameplay, making it a shadow of the previous titles.

March 6, 2007 - Today Electronic Arts, in partnership with Def Jam Interactive, announced that Def Jam: Icon has shipped to stores nationwide. Icon mixes music with classic brawl gameplay in what EA is calling a "hip-hop lifestyle experience."

February 26, 2007 - When it comes to fighting games, you expect to beat people down in hand to hand combat. You might even expect to grab a weapon and smash someone with it. But for EA Chicago's latest brawler, the strongest attack isn't a punch or a baseball bat. In Def Jam: Icon, music is the weapon, which can completely pound your opponent senseless. But it isn't simply about banging beats; you'll need to use the music to trigger environmental hazards that sweep, smash or blow up anyone in their way.

February 20, 2007 - When it comes to fighting games, you expect to beat people down in hand to hand combat. You might even expect to grab a weapon and smash someone with it. But for EA Chicago's latest brawler, the strongest attack isn't a punch or a baseball bat. In Def Jam: Icon, music is the weapon, which can completely pound your opponent senseless. But it isn't simply about banging beats; you'll need to use the music to trigger environmental hazards that sweep, smash or blow up anyone in their way.

February 15, 2007 - Def Jam: Icon, the latest game in the hard hitting series, comes with a line-up that's a veritable who's who of hip hop. You've no doubt soaked up the innovative scratch mechanics and environmental interactivity via the demo on Marketplace, but which rappers are you most looking forward to crushing skulls with in the final game? We took a quick poll of the IGN Australia staffers to come up with our Top 5 list. Here's a look at which playaz we're most excited about erm, playing as.

February 12, 2007 - When it comes to fighting games, you expect to beat people down in hand to hand combat. You might even expect to grab a weapon and smash someone with it. But for EA Chicago's latest brawler, the strongest attack isn't a punch or a baseball bat. In Def Jam: Icon, music is the weapon, which can completely pound your opponent senseless. But it isn't simply about banging beats; you'll need to use the music to trigger environmental hazards that sweep, smash or blow up anyone in their way.

February 12, 2007 - The good folks over at IGN Australia have come across the achievement list for the upcoming Def Jam: Icon and
we thought you might like to know exactly how you'll be investing unheard of numbers of hours into getting a few more points added onto your achievement total this March.
From the looks of it, there is a nice mix betweeen online and offline achievements as well as a good spread across the difficulty spectrum. Looks like EA Chicago has learned a thing or two since Fight Night Round 3. Enough with our commentary, here's the list.

February 9, 2007 - Electronic Arts today unloaded a heavy-hitting playable demo on Xbox Live Marketplace today with Def Jam Icon. Slated for Xbox 360 and PS3 in early March, EA's Chicago team has reworked the third Def Jam game in the series into an impressive combination of street brawler and musically interactive arcade game. The demo weighs in at 383.90 MBs and downloads in about 8 minutes with a good connection.

February 5, 2007 - When it comes to fighting games, you expect to beat people down in hand to hand combat. You might even expect to grab a weapon and smash someone with it. But for EA Chicago's latest brawler, the strongest attack isn't a punch or a baseball bat. In Def Jam: Icon, music is the weapon, which can completely pound your opponent senseless. But it isn't simply about banging beats; you'll need to use the music to trigger environmental hazards that sweep, smash or blow up anyone in their way.

January 16, 2007 - "Music is the weapon."
Kudo Tsunoda proudly proclaimed this statement at EA's Winter Preview today. However, it wasn't a remixed version of Revolution X that we were watching; instead, we were checking out the latest build of Def Jam: Icon, the upcoming brawler from EA Chicago. We've covered some of the basics of the fighting system in previous coverage, mentioning the invisible DJ, but we finally got a deeper grasp of just how music will influence every fight.

January 16, 2007 - If 2006 was a springboard year for Microsoft's Xbox 360, then 2007 will be the year it leaps onto a trampoline and pulls off triple spin-flips. This year is thick and juicy with great games no mater how you dice it.

January 9, 2007 - Upon starting up the demo for Def Jam: Icon at the Consumer Electronics show, the only thing I could think initially was that I didn't know who Big Boi and T.I., the two playable characters, were. I'm clearly out of the loop when it comes to hip hop and rap. I blame this on the fact that I no longer live with my college roommate who would blast it incessantly. Nonetheless, that didn't prevent me from having fun with a game that brings a fresh look to pounding the snot out of fellow rap stars.